The long Easter weekend was a good opportunity for us to do a nice trip to Losheim am See (Losheim at the lake) in the state Saarland in Germany. We stayed in a 4-star hotel directly at the lake, went for hikes and explored other places near Losheim.
Saarburg
On our way to Losheim we made a short stop in Saarburg, a small town with a nice layout and a waterfall in the middle of it. It has a very charming flair and in summer you have nice restaurants of ice cafés to sit outside and enjoy the atmosphere and see people passing by.
Losheim am See
In the early afternoon we arrived at the hotel “Hochwälder Wohlfühlhotel” directly at the lake of Losheim. The hotel has nice rooms with balconies with views to the garden and the lake or to the other side with the parking lots. The rooms with the garden and lake views were already taken, so we had to take a room on the other side. The hotel offered a restaurant for dinner and breakfast, a bar, a gym and a wellness area.
After our arrival, we took a walk around the lake with our two dogs and the path is very nice as it is a loop directly at the lake and the sun was out. Our dogs enjoyed playing on the grass and going into the water (Attention: Dogs are not allowed on the grass and in the water in summer). The lake comes with other highlights like the “Seegarten” (lake’s garden) and the opportunity to rent a pedal boat to go out on the lake.
Merzig and Mettlach
Back from the walk, we got into the car to explore some other places nearby. Our first stop was in Merzig, a small town with a pedestrian zone and some shops. Merzig has a little water stream through the city which makes it more charming, but it was nothing special. So we continued to the next little town called Mettlach at the Saar River. We didn’t know much about it, but when we arrived there and walked through the small pedestrian zone, we realized what it is famous for. It is a factory outlet shopping city for Villeroy & Boch, WMF, Laura Ashley and others. We took the chance and got some new cooking pots from WMF for a great price. As we arrived there in the late afternoon, the shops were closing down already and we couldn’t check out Villeroy & Boch for some dining plates, but we will definitely have to come back.
After we arrive back in the hotel we prepared for dinner and decided to have little aperitif at the hotel bar and enjoyed sitting comfortably while the sun was shining over the lake right into the seating area of the bar on our faces while we had a drink. For dinner we went to the brewery restaurant “Hochwälder Brauhaus” right next to the hotel, which it serves traditional German food. They have some vegetarian options, the quality of the food is good, but not the best I ever had.
The next morning we had very tasty breakfast with a lot of options at the buffet. They offered things like different types of bread, rolls, cheese and sausages. They had several healthy options like yoghurt, fruit salads and even freshly pressed smoothies. It was definitely worth to take the breakfast in the hotel.
Hike the “Saarschleife” with viewing point “Cloef”
Unfortunately the weather was not that good and it had some short rain showers during the day. Nevertheless we wanted to go for a hike with our dogs and chose a hiking route near Mettlach to see the “Saarschleife” (river loop of the Saar), form a vantage point called “Cloef”.
We started the hike from the parking in Orscholz and you have access to many different hiking routes with signs everywhere. Right at our starting point, you have the possibility to go up on a viewing platform to have an overview on the surrounding area (entrance fee 10 €). We decided to do one of the normal hiking trails from there. We went for a 7 km hike and after a few minutes we already arrived at the viewing point to see the river loop and it was a nice view from top of the hills. Our dogs enjoyed the whole walk very much with walks in the water and the woods.
We had finished the hike in the early afternoon and wanted to get some lunch to get back some strength. We stayed in Mettlach and found a very nice restaurant “Zum Schwan”, which is also a hotel and Café, at the beginning of the pedestrian zone. The traditional German food was good and they had some nice desserts, which was just right thing to have after the hike.
The evening consisted only of relaxing in the hotel and having a little dinner at the restaurant next to the hotel.
Hike the “Sonnenrunde” in Losheim am See
On our departure day, we had breakfast at the hotel again and really enjoyed it very much. After checkout we went for a short morning hike with the dogs before we went home. Directly at the hotel there are some hiking trails starting or passing by and we chose the one which is starting from there. It is called “Sonnenrunde” (sun round) and was only 4km, but very good after breakfast to start relaxed and active into the day.
It was a very nice weekend even though the weather was not the best, but the hotel, the food and the surrounding area with the lake, river and hiking trails was perfect and we are thinking of going back to it again to do some more hiking.
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